Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Things to take away from the Gamergate controversy.

I'm not going to take sides in this idiotic debate. Seriously, two months of shouting over a video game review? Anyway, this is all stuff that both sides should have learned by now.1. There will be jerks and sociopaths on all sides of any controversy. Just because Nixon created the EPA doesn't mean that environmental regulations are a bad idea. Just because Josef Stalin was part of the Allies doesn't mean you should support the Axis.
2. Being a jerk doesn't help your cause either. People have an understandable bias against good ideas when they hear them from bad people.
3. Being offended doesn't mean that you are right.
4. A review of a work of art cannot be completely objective. Whether it is a novel, a movie, gourmet food, or a video game, different people can have different opinions of it. A review reflects the opinion of the reviewer. Opinions aren't right or wrong, but they can be unpopular. Roger Ebert gave 3.5 stars out of a possible 4 to 'Phantom Menace'. Any reviewer can give any rating to anything.
5. Sending death threats to activists only serves to convince them that their cause is vital and just.
6. Decrying offensive content of video games only serves to boost sales.
7. Nothing ever gets resolved on Twitter.
8. If we're arguing, don't send me a video. I hate watching preachy videos on the Internet. You can blame Upworthy for that. Consider yourself lucky that I'm reading what you've typed. If your reason and logic won't convince me, then talking heads and dramatic music won't work either.